Thread-splicing machine.



A. A, BRIGHM.

THREAD Sx'JUClNG NMi'-NE.

. MPucATloN 'FILED umso. 1919.

@ Patented sew. u, mi

' SHEETS-swim 2.

A. IBRI'EAM, ROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

THREAD-SPLICING. MACHINE.A

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. it, 191'?.

Application filed December 30, 1915. Serial No. 69,485.

ATo all whom lima/.y concern:

Be it known that ARTHUR A. BnrGHAM, a citizen of the United States,residlng at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State ofMassachusetts have invented certain Improvements in bread-SplicingMachines, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters onthe drawings indicating like parts 1n the several figures.

In the winding of thread on spools, tubes, cones or into balls or otherforms in which it is to be marketed, it becomes necessary, when an endis reached, to join this end to the end of the supply from which thewinddown into the spliceding is to be continued, in some manner suitedto the purpose for which the thread 1s to be used. If the thread is tobe used in sewing machines or in any machine in which uniformity in thediameter of the threadis an important consideration, .then obviously aknot is highly objectionable; and accordingly it becomes necessary tojoin the thread ends by splicing in some manner that will notresult inincreasing the diameter of the thread in the spliced portion to anobjectionable degree.`

With a view to meetingthis `requirement it has been customary heretoforeto untwist the thread ends to be joined, the threads usually being heldin rotary twister heads driven by power to elect this untwisting op-Ieration; then to separate the untwisted portions into their individualstrands and join together in .pairs the strands so separated, e`ach pairconsisting of one strand from each thread. This temporary joiningconsists merely in twisting the two strands loosely together. When allthe pairs of strands have been joined in this manner, the threads areremoved from the twister heads; and the accumulation of twist which hasbacked up in the threads behind the twister heads during the untwistingoperation is stripped portion by hand, thus returning to the splicedpart substantially the twist that was taken out Vof it. This generalmethod of splicing has been followed substantially as just described fora number of years.

The present invention has for its general object to devise a` machine orapparatus with which to facilitate the operation of splicing threadand'similar material. More speciically, the invention aims to reduce thetimf` 'required for the thread splicingoperation;

to render the twisting and untwisting operations more uniform and moreaccurately adapted to different kinds of threads; and .to produce asplicesuperior to that ordi- Ilarily obtained by the methods heretoforepractised.

The various features of the invention will bereadily understood from thefollowing description of the embodiment thereof now preferredby me,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l isa. plan View of a machine representing this embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, left hand twister head shown in Fig. l andCertain of the adjacent parts; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section of a thread holding devicewith which the machine is equipped.

Referring now to the drawings, 2 and 3 indicate in general two opposedtwister heads mounted substantially in axial alinement with each otherin bearings supported on a base plate 4f. The twister head 2 coniprisesashat 6 rotatably mounted in a bearing 8, a long pinion 10 secured faston said shaft at one side of said bearing and a knurled sleeve 12secured thereon at the opposite side of the bearing. A slot 14 is -ormedlongitudinally through the sleeve, pinion, bearing and shaft, extendingfrom the peripheral surfaces of these parts substantially to their axesso that the threadl can beslipped into this slot and secured therein,lyincf substane tially in the axis of rotation of the twister head.`When the thread is so positioned it is clamped at the forward end ofthe shaft by a set screw 16, threaded through the sleeve l2, as bestindicated in F ig. 2l The twister head 3 is similarly constructed, itsparts being designated, respectively, by the odd numerals next higherthan those used to designate the corresponding parts of the twister head2. j Mounted intermediate beside the twister heads are two threadedyshafts 18 and 19, respectively, which are supported in iixed'positionsin bearings 20 and 2l, respectively; and mounted on these shafts are twogears 22 and 23, respectively, which mesh with their adjacent pinions 10and 11, respec- -tivcly. Each of these gears has an internal thread thatreceives the external thread of the stationa1y-shaft on which it issupported, so that 1t can rotate on its shaft only showing the.

by traveling longitudinally of This longitudinal travel of eachl gear islimited by wise direction can be definitely predetermined by the propersetting or adjustment of the two sets of check nuts with which each'shaft is provided.

Suitable supports 28 and 29'are provided, respectively, for thespools,tubes or other articles on which the thread that is tobe spliced iswound. Each of these supports consists merely of two arms pivotedtogether and one pivoted on the plate 4, the arm not carried directly bythe plate being provided with a pin on which the tube, spool or otherarticle is rotatably supported. The two arms are clamped in adjustedposition by thumb screws. Suitable .thread guides 30 are positioned bothin front of and behind each twister head and substantially in axialaline- Inent therewith to aid in guiding the thread into the axis ofeach twister head. The thread pasfing through the twister head 2 has itsend held temporarily in one or more thread holding clips 32, adjustableinto any one of a series of holes 34 drilled through the plate 4; andsimilar clips 33, adjustable in holes 35, are provided to hold the endof the thread passing through the twister head 3. l

Mounted between the twister heads and in front of their axial line is athread supporting plate 36 having a vertical thread supporting face inwhich a shallow groove is formed. as best indicated in Fig. 2. The endsof this plate are curved toward 'the twister heads 2 and 3. This platehas a wing 37 projecting from it, which is slotted to receive a clampingscrew 38 that secures the plate adjustably on the upper surface y of asmall rocker arm 39, which is pivoted at 40 ona bracket 41 secured tothe plate 4. This construction allows the plate to be adjusted laterallytoward and from the axial line of the twister heads, and also to swingabout the pivot 4() toward and from said line. This swinging motion islimited by the engagement of two ears 42 and 43, projecting in front ofand behind, respectively, the rocker arm 39. and arranged to engage theheads ot small adjusting screws 44 and 45, respectively, that arethreaded intov the bracket 41. The plate 36 is urged away from the axialline of the twister heads by means of a spring 46 that cncircles a guiderod 47 which is piyoted to the back of the rocker, arm 39 and has a nut48 threaded thereon against which the spring 46 bears at one end, itsopposite end being backed up by an upright part of the bracket 41through which the rod 47 slides. By adjusting, the nut 48 along the rod47, the tensionfof the spring 46 can be varied.

Two brushes 50 and 51, respectively, are

secured in inclined positions to the front of the base plate 4, wher-ethey may conveniently hold the strands of the ,threads that are to bespliced.

In using the machine, the gears 22 and 23, `which are shaped to formhand wheels, are

rotated by hand away from each other until-` they strike theirrespective pairs of check' nuts 24, which stop any further rotativemovement in these directions. Preferably, these check nuts are so setthat, when the gears 22 and 23are against them, the Aparts of each slot14 and 15 in the two twister heads will be lined up together, asindicated in Fig. 2. so that the threads can be conveniently laid intothe respective slots. As

shown in Fig. l. the thread 4Ais passed `per inch. This number is known,and the lengtlrot' the thread between either twister' head and itsrespective clip 32 or 33 is also known. Since the ratio between eachgear and its pinion and the number Aof threads perinch on the shafts 18and 19 are known, the check nuts 26 can readily .be set so that when thegear 22, for instance, is rotated in a direction indicated by the arrowon it in Fig. 1, it will give the twister head 2 only the requirednumber of revolutions necessary to take the twist out of the part of thethread A between the clip 32 and the shaft 6. The rotation of the gear23 in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1, takes the twist outof the corresponding part of the thread B. -If the number of turns inthe thread were not known, it would-be merely necessary to support thethreadsl in the manner described and to turn the gears 22 and 23 slowlyby hand until all the twist had been taken out of the sections of threadto be spliced. The check nuts 26 could then be set to bear against thegears 22 and 23, and this setting would be correct for future splicingoperations on the saine kind of thread. Ot course, the untwisting of theend portions of the threads in this manner runs b'ack a. certain amountof surplus twist into the parts of the threads lying` behind the twisterheads, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The twist now being taken out of the two sections of thread that are tobe spliced together, one of these sections, as for instance B, is takenout of its clip 33 and separated soy iid

Vcan readily be done now into its strands l), Fig. l, which, of course,that the thread has been untwisted. These strands h are then insertedbetween the bristles of the brush 5l, as-shown in Fig. l, to hold themtemporarily. It has been assumed in Fig. l that there are four strandsin the thread B. This ligure shows the machine at this stage in thesplicing operation. The thread A, of course, has a like number ofstrands and this thread is next taken out of its clip 32, and itsstrands o are separated and secured in the brush 50 in the same way thatthe strands b are secured. Une ot' the strands a oi' one thread is nowbrought across the front face of the plate 36 with one of the strands hof the other thread, and the two strands are twisted together severaltimes merely by rolling them between the fingers. The ends of thestrands are then pulled to stretch them across the thread supportingface of the plate, leaving the twisted portion at the upper left handend ofthe face of the plate, as shown in Fig. 2. This operation is thenrepeated with another pair of strands a and b, but this time the twistedpart ispositioned farther to the right so that it does not overlap thetwisted section of the first two strands. This operation is repeatedwith each of the other remaining pairs of strands until theyhave allbeen joined in this manner; the twisted sections being spaced along theplate 36 so that they do not overlap each other. The ends of the strandsmay then be cut oil' substantially as It desired, the strands amoistened by an atoinizer convenient manner and b may be or in any otherbefore this joining operation is begun so that they will better staytwisted together.

The strands of both threads are now associated with each other inreadiness to be twisted together, the plate 36 serving to support themin the condition in which they have been joined together loosely, asjust described. While they lie thus against the face of the plate 86,the two gears 22 and 23 are rotated in directions opposite to thedirections indicated by the arrows on them in Fig. l, causing them totravel away from each other until they strike the check nuts 24, andthus rotating the twister heads 2 and 3 in directions opposite to thedirections of the first rotation. This operation causes each twisterhead to make the same number of revolutions that it made originally, butin the opposite direction, thus putting back into the thread the samenumber 'of turns that originally were taken out, and also taking outbehind the first part the surplus twist in the'threads two twisterheads. During the of this twisting operation, the

' several strands lying against the thread supporting face of the plate36 roll together and tend to travel toward the middle of the shown inFig. 2."

one pair at a time,

of this face of the plate; but as the thread shortens, due to thetwisting action, it rides up over the upper edge of the plate 36,pressing this plate backwardly about the pivot 40 until it finally tipsthe plate back far enough to snap over the upper edge oil the plate andfree itself from the plate. As the rotation of the twister head iscontinued, the spliced section is twisted up tightly.

lf the checknuts 24 have been set properly, as above described, theparts of the slot in each twister head will now be lined up so that theentire length of thread be tween the two balls or spools can be immediately it being merely necessary first to loosen the set screws 16and 17.

The plate 36 affords a very convenient support against which to performthe part oi" the splicing operation that must be done by hand; and byproperly adjusting' this taken out of the twisterheads,v

twister heads will thread will be twisted up tightly when the twisting;operation-is completed. That is, the ladjustment of the plate will makethe proper allowance for the slack to be taken up in theitwistingoperation. This result can also be modified by the adjustment ot theposts 32 and-33. lt will be'noted that the joined sections of thestrands when they lie against the plate 36 are all substantially uniformin length, so that when these strands have been twisted together tocomplete the splice they will all be under substantially the sametension and thus will make a stronger splice than they would if some'or' the joined sections of strandsvwere substantially looser thanothers.

The spliced section of thread is neXt stretched between two threadholding devices 52 and 54 positioned at the back of the base plate 4.These devices may be oi any. suitable form but in the arrangement shownthe device 52 consists merely I ing a disk 53 havingaV-shaped threadholding notch formed in its periphery. The device 54 consists of a postsecured in the plate 4 with a disk 56 secured thereto by a short bolt57, but free to rotate or pivot on said bolt. A weighted arm 58 issecured to this disk, as shown in Fig. 3. The thread is passed oncearound the disk 53 of the iirst thread holding device, and thensimilarly around the disk 56 lying in' the notch 59, the arm 58 beingtipped up while this opi eration takes place. As soon as the arm isreleased, its weight tends to swing the disk 56 'on its pivot in a.direction that tensions the length oi thread secured between the twomembers 52 and 54. The ends of the several pairs of strands a and 7),which have been twisted together, are now pulled up, and cut od close tothe be made such that theV This spliced'section is then rubbed with I' apossibility oi making a mistake.

' wax, starch or some filling material suited to the requirements of theparticular kind oli' thread being spliced to give it a smooth surface.

As soon as the check nuts 22 and 24 have been set for any particular kmdof thread .and the posts 32 and 33 have been properly spaced for this`thread, the operation then becomes exceedingly simple; it can beperformed very rapidly; and there is scarcely This setti-1g, of course,is made by the foreman or overseer so that no matteil requiring anygreat amount of judgment or technical knowledge isleft to the operative.By making the gears 22 and 23 in the shape of hand wheels the machinemay conveniently be run by the operative and the requirement for powerthus is eliminated. It obviously takes no substantial amount of power torun the twister heads. It is an important advantage to be able todetermine definitely the number of revolutions that the twister headswill make in either direction so that when this number is determined forany given splice, no further attention need be paid to the drivingl`mechanism until the thread is changed. I also regard the yieldingmovement of the thread supporting plate 36 and the construction otitsface as important features of this invention.

While the thread splicing operation has been above described asperformed on thread having a right hand twist, it is obvious that it ismerely necessary to reverse the direction of rotation of the twisterheads in performing the different steps in order to splice thread havinga left hand twist.

It will be evident that there is in any given part of the splicedsection of thread only one more strand than in the part of the threadthat is not spliced. Accordingly,

v the splicing operation does not objectionably increase the diameter ofthe thread. The spliced section, when the operation is performed asabove described, will be twisted slightly tighter, that is, will havemore twists per inch, than the unspliced part. This, however, is notobjectionable, and the amount or' this additional twist can be varied byadjusting the clips 32 and 33 toward or from their respective twisterheads 2 and 3, and making the corresponding changes necessary in thenumber of revolutions iven to each' twister head. A comparative y littleexperience will enable a foreman or operativel to determine very quicklywhat this adjustment should be.

While the invention has been above described as embodied in a machinefor splicing thread, it is obvious that it could be used for splicingother material not technt cally known as thread, but consisting ofseveral strands of material twisted together; and accordingly it isdesired that the term thread, as used herein, shall be regarded as adescriptive rather than a limiting term. It is obvious also that manychanges may be made in the details of construction and inv thearrangements of par'ts without departing from the spirit or scope ofthis invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters latent of the United States is: u l. In a threadsplicing machine, the com-l bination of two. opposed twister heads eachConstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in. opposite directionsto twist or untwist the thread, means constructed and arranged tosupport the 'strands of both of said threads while said strands areassociated' with each other in readiness to betwisted together andoperative to maintain said strandsunder tension while the operation oftwisting them together is being effected.

2. ln a thread splicing machine, the combination `of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement Awith each other, eachconstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directionsto.

twist or untwist a thread, and a thread supporting plate positionedbetween said heads but/out of axial alinement with them and mounted fo"yielding movement toward and from the axial line of said heads.

In a thread splicing machine, the com bination of two opposed twisterheads each constructed to hold a thread and each rotatable inoppositedirections to twist or untwist the thread, two thread-holdingdevices arranged to cooperate respectively with said heads to hold thethreads while the heads untwist them, said devices being mounted .foradjustment toward or from their respective heads, and means constructedand arranged,

to support the strands of both of said threads while said strands 1` areassociated with each other in readiness to be twisted together andoperative to maintain said strands .under tension while the operation oftwisting them together is being, eleeted.

4. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with ea'ch other, eachconstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directionsto twist or untwist a thread, means for holding the ends of the threadsheld by said twister heads, means for revolving said heads in eitherdirection, adjustable means for limiting the number of revolutions thatsaid heads but out of axial alinement with them, means supporting saidplate for movement ascenso toward and, from the axial line ot said.heads, and a spring resisting the movement of said plate toward saidaxial line.

5. ln thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with each other, eachconstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directionsto twist or untwist a thread, two screw threaded shafts positioned,respectively, adjacent to Ysaid twister` heads, and driving devices forsaid heads mounted respectively on said threaded shafts, adjustablemeans for limiting the number of turns that said driving devices canmake on their respective shafts, and thread supporting means betweensaid heads.

6. in a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with cach other, eachconstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directionsto twist or untwist a thread` means for limiting the number ofrevolutions that said heads can make in either direction, means forholding the ends of the threads held by said twister heads, a verticalthread supporting plate mounted between said heads and in Yliront ottheir axial line, the ends of said plate being curved toward saidrespective heads, means supporting said plate for pivotal movementtoward and from the axial line of said heads, and a spring tending 'toswing said plate about said pivot away from said axial line.

7. ln a thread splicing machine, the combination oi two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with each other, eachconstructed to hold a thread -and each rotatable in opposite directionsto twist or untwist a thread, and a thread supiorting plate positionedbetween said heads hut out of axial alinement with them and mounted i'oryielding movement toward and Jtrom the atrial-line of said heads, saidplate having a shallow groove extending longitudinally oii its threadsupporting tace.

8. ln a thread splicing machine, the combination ot two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in :finement with each other, eachcoostrl'leted to hold a thread and each rota table in oppositedirections to twist or untwist a ti'iread, and a vertical threadsupporting plate positioned between said heads but in 'iront of theaxial line of said heads'meaus Vtor supporting said plate for adjustmenttoward and trom said axial line and tor pivotal movement toward and'from said line, means for limiting the pivotal movement of said plate,and a spring ed together and operative acting to swing said plate aboutits away from said line.

9. In a thread splicing machine, the coinbination of two opposed twisterheads mounts" ed substantially in alinement with each othelf 'ea eachconstructed to hold a thread rotatable and each 1n opposite directionsto twist or untwist a. thread, a thread supporting plate positionedbetween said twister heads and in front of their axial line.. said platehaving a vertical thread supporting face and bein mounted to yield underpressure of the thread while being twisted up, means for rotatinv saidheads in .either direction, adjustable means for limiting the number -ofrevolutions that said heads can make in either direction, and means infront of said heads for holding` the strands of untwisted threads.

l0. In' a thread splicing machine, thread supporting means comprisingtwo thread holding devices arranged to support a thread between themsion on the thread, one of said devices having a pivoted thread holdingmember and means arranged to act on said member to rotate it vieldinglyabout its pivot in a plane parallel to the direction `of length of thethread and in a direction tending to tension the thread. Y,

11. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads each constructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in oppositedirections to twist or untwist the thread, means constructed andarranged to support the strands of both of and to maintain a tensaidthreads while said strands are associated with each other in readinessto be twistto maintain-said strands under tension while thevoperation oftwisting them together is being effected, said means heingconstructedand arranged to enable the spliced portion of the thread to shortenduring the twisting operation,v and adjustable means for limiting theextentf of said twisting and untwisting operations. i

l2. In a thread splicing machine, the combination with mechanism foruntwisting and twisting the end portions of two threads to be spliced,of means constructed and arranged to support the strands of both threadswhile said strands are associated with each other preparatory to beingtwisted together by said mechanism, said supporting means beingconstructed and arranged to yield as thespliced portion of the threadshortens while being twisted up.

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificatio

